Latest news with #JimThorpe
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Famous birthdays for May 28: Carey Mulligan, Colbie Caillat
May 28 (UPI) -- Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include: -- British statesman William Pitt the Younger in 1759 -- All-around athlete Jim Thorpe in 1887 -- Writer Ian Fleming in 1908 -- Musician T-Bone Walker in 1910 -- Musician Papa John Creach in 1917 -- Actor Carroll Baker in 1931 (age 94) -- Basketball Hall of Fame member Jerry West in 1938 -- Writer Maeve Binchy in 1939 -- Former New York City Mayor/Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in 1944 (age 81) -- Musician Gladys Knight in 1944 (age 81) -- Actor Sondra Locke in 1944 -- Musician John Fogerty in 1945 (age 80) -- Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass in 1947 (age 78) -- Musician Jerry Douglas (Alison Kraus & Union Station) in 1956 (age 69) -- Actor James Michael Tyler in 1962 -- Actor Christa Miller in 1964 (age 61) -- Musician Chris Ballew (Presidents of the United States of America) in 1965 (age 60) -- Musician Kylie Minogue in 1968 (age 57) -- Actor Justin Kirk in 1969 (age 56) -- TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck in 1977 (age 48) -- Actor Jake Johnson in 1978 (age 47) -- Actor Alexa Davalos in 1982 (age 43) -- Musician Colbie Caillat in 1985 (age 40) -- Actor Carey Mulligan in 1985 (age 40) -- Wrestler Seth Rollins in 1986 (age 39) -- Actor Lukas Gage in 1995 (age 30) -- Musician Dahyun (Twice) in 1998 (age 27) -- Actor Cameron Boyce in 1999
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The ‘why' that fueled DB Jahdae Barron's climb to a first-round pick by the Broncos
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — To know Jahdae Barron is to know his dream. The one he began writing down on paper and reciting in the mirror a decade ago. The one he shares with anyone who comes into his orbit, from the equipment managers at Texas to the owner of the Denver Broncos. You can bet everyone inside the overflowing rented house on the shores of Lake Travis outside Austin during Barron's draft party last week had heard him vocalize the vision over and over. Advertisement They all knew he was going to buy Techonia Davis a house. He was going to 'give her the world back,' as Barron put it, after his mother for years worked two jobs to unearth every opportunity she could for Barron and his five siblings. 'His mom is his rock and his mom is his why,' Michael Huff, the former Texas safety who has been one of Barron's mentors since he joined the Longhorns in 2020, told The Athletic. 'A lot of people don't know what their why is. Seeing how hard she worked, day in and day out, whether it's getting his degree or going to the NFL, everything he does is for his mom.' When the Broncos selected Barron with the No. 20 pick in last week's NFL Draft, he felt compelled to share that dream with a room full of coaches, scouts, executives and support staff who had played some part in helping him realize it. He asked to be put on speakerphone. The room quieted. By selecting Barron in the first round, he said, the organization had changed his mother's life. Never in Sean Payton's more than 20 years in draft rooms as a head coach or coordinator had he seen a similar scene unfold. 'I just felt the need in my heart to tell everybody, 'Thank you,'' Barron said. The last year has felt like storybook stuff for the do-it-all defensive back, but none of this was preordained. Fifteen months ago, Barron sat in an office with Huff, a one-time Broncos defensive back himself, and discussed the decision ahead. Barron could enter the NFL Draft. He could hear his name called late on Day 2 or somewhere on Day 3 and dive into the professional career that awaited him. He could begin building Techonia's house. Barron, after all, had already been in Austin longer than he envisioned when he arrived in 2020. 'I struggled at times, wanting things on my time,' Barron said. 'Three years back, kind of just looking back at it, wanting to be three (years in college) and done and things like that. Wanting to win the Jim Thorpe (Award) and just all these things. I had to understand and just mature. It's not on my time, it's on God's time and His timing is perfect.' Advertisement Barron decided to defer the dream for one more year, knowing it could blossom under the expansive Texas sky. He made another decision, with Huff's blessing. Barron had honored his late friend Tardrick 'Trollie' Fowler, who died just before the defensive back's freshman season in Austin, by wearing Fowler's No. 23. Heading into his final season, Barron wanted to honor another legacy, that of Huff's, who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back during his senior season two decades earlier. 'We were just looking at the bigger picture, looking at the future, and one of the things that came up was him possibly wearing 7,' Huff said. 'I was like, 'Oh!' It was kind of an honor for someone to want to wear 7 and live up to my legacy, but for me, I told him the moment he put on 7, I wanted him to be greater than me. I didn't want him to go out there and be Michael Huff. I wanted him to put on the 7 and create his own legacy in it. I definitely think that's what he did.' Barron finished his final season in Austin with five interceptions, 11 passes defensed and too many big plays to count. He made them from all angles, out of nearly every defensive alignment. It helped that Huff was in his corner, constantly demanding more from the new No. 7. 'If I had a pick and I didn't take it for (a touchdown), he would be like, 'I would've taken it for six,'' Barron said of Huff, whose final NFL game was the Broncos' AFC championship victory against the New England Patriots in 2013. 'So he was always just in my ear messing with me. He was a big mentor.' Y'all ready for this? Our very own Thorpe-winner, Jahdae Barron, kicked off the season in style with an interception that would make any cornerback jealous! He snagged it and took off for a 30-yard return like he was on a Sunday stroll. Texas Longhorns vs. Colorado State Rams… — Longhorn🤘Highlights (@LonghornClips) January 13, 2025 The Broncos treated Barron's film sessions like Blockbuster movie night, rewinding and replaying their favorite scenes as they envisioned him in a secondary that includes defensive player of the year Pat Surtain, another former Texas standout at safety in Brandon Jones and tenacious new safety Talanoa Hufanga. Advertisement Barron won the Jim Thorpe, checking off another goal he would recite into the mirror each morning. The dynamic play on the field, though, was only part of the impact Barron made during his transformative final season at Texas, the one that set him on a firm path to the first round. Huff would walk through the Texas football facility in the morning and see boxes of donuts stacked in the equipment room, a weekly delivery from Barron. The team captain used NIL money to buy members of the team's training and nutrition staff fresh pairs of sneakers before the season, Huff said, 'so that when they taped guys pregame, they got to do it in Jordans.' 'All those little things, that's always been him,' Huff said. 'It's stuff he didn't have to do. He wanted to show people how much he appreciated them and how much they did for him and how much they do for his family. Everything he does is genuine.' Cultivating those types of vibes is one thing when you're in the middle of a magical season, like Texas' 2024 campaign that reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. It's another thing when you're playing on a high school team that wins three games in three years. Barron stood out from the time he was a sophomore, earning offers from the likes of TCU and Baylor. But Barron's John B. Connally High School didn't have the depth to keep up with other schools in the fierce big-school landscape in the Austin area. 'When myself and my staff got there, it had been down, and we built it up and got to the playoffs,' said Jason Cecil, Barron's coach at Connally. 'Then, they opened a new school that basically cut (Connally's roster numbers) in half. His group was a part of that, where we just didn't have the numbers we had had in the past to compete at that level. The thing I saw with him through that is that he just kept coming to work, kept becoming a better and better leader.' HS Rewind. With the NFL Draft starting tomorrow, it's cool to look back at some of the guys who will get picked & see what they were like in high school. From Pflugerville Connally to likely 1st rd pick, Jahdae Barron has always been a big play DB. @Officia1dae @BamPerformance — Travis Recek (@TravisRecek) April 23, 2025 Losing was frustrating, but it also revealed the leadership skills that would become part of Barron's legacy at Texas and a significant factor in Denver's decision to take them with its first-round pick despite needs at skill positions on offense. 'He was always the same person, no matter what was happening,' said Harrison McKinley, a teammate of Barron's at Connally. 'He kept pushing us and keeping us together. Even if we were losing, he had a winning mindset. He would get up hyped before games, made sure our minds were right.' Advertisement It was also at Connally where Barron first began showcasing the uncommon versatility that has become a defining trait. He spent most of his time at outside corner, blanketing the opponent's top receiver, but Cecil saw enough flashes of Barron's work in the deep part of the field or crashing the line of scrimmage to project that 'he would be outstanding as a safety.' Short on numbers during Barron's senior season, Cecil decided to use his best defensive player at wide receiver. 'We said, 'What are we doing? Let's see if this can catch the ball,'' the coach said. 'We put him at receiver and he's automatically our best receiver. I probably made a mistake there waiting that long. He was a special talent.' Each season at Texas tested Barron in new ways. He played outside, in the nickel spot and at safety. He roamed the line of scrimmage in a dime linebacker role. He would split would-be double-team blocks by receivers or duck under the reach of tight ends to drop a running back for a loss. His 11.5 tackles for loss in 2023 were the most by any defensive back in the Big 12. Payton scoffed at the notion that a skillset like Barron's wasn't a need for Denver. Contending in the AFC against its wave of talented quarterbacks means having solutions for the continuous batch of problems those passers can create. A truly versatile piece like Barron is a must in that landscape, the coach said. 'When you're short (on defensive backs), boy, that makes it difficult,' Payton said. 'These are premium positions, and this type of player is less available than so many other positions. It's harder to find these traits and what he does than at other positions. So he provides great flexibility if you want to play a third-down snap and put Surtain on a certain receiver, travel (Barron) to one, travel Riley (Moss), there's a lot of flexibility. … It's real difficult if you're light there. It would be no different than 20 years ago if you were light at just one of the two corner positions. The value of these defensive backs in the last 10 years has really skyrocketed relative to how the game has changed.' Barron arrived at Broncos' headquarters on Friday and tried to express the gravity of the moment. Techonia Davis sat in a chair 10 feet away as her son spoke about the journey the two had taken to get there. There was a glance between the two as Barron stood tall at the podium, an unspoken recognition that a shared dream had been realized.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Jim Thorpe man pleads guilty to vehicular homicide in Carbon County crash that killed 3
A Jim Thorpe man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a 2021 fatal car crash. According to court records, Brett Knoll, 41, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded guilty to three counts of homicide by vehicle and one count of aggravated assault by vehicle on April 14. He was initially charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle, four counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, and multiple summary traffic violations. On Aug. 7, 2021, Knoll crashed into a Toyota Camry occupied by four men at the intersection of Interstate 476 and Route 903, killing three of the Camry's occupants. Two of the decedents died at the scene, and one was later pronounced dead at Geisinger Hospital. One occupant who was unbelted was ejected from the Camry, and an occupant who improperly wore his seatbelt was partially ejected. The victims were three New Jersey men: Nicholas Nissen, 25, of South Amboy; Joseph Riggio Jr., 30, of Parlin; and Michael Guevara, 31, of Bayonne. According to a Pennsylvania State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialist Unit investigation, Knoll drove at 'such an excessive speed' to cause a hazard and give up his right of way. Both Knoll and the driver of the Camry, the lone survivor from that vehicle, were wearing seatbelts. Knoll is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10 by Carbon County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Serfass. Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@ This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Jim Thorpe man pleads guilty in 2021 crash that killed 3 NJ men
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Activists speak out after several cat shelters were damaged in Luzerne County
PLAINS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Controversy is brewing tonight at a commissioners' meeting in Luzerne County where several cat shelters have been found damaged. 28/22 News Reporter Brian Orbin has the latest on what animal rights advocates want done to solve the issue. Nestled in this quiet patch of land, these wooden shelters have been a lifeline for abandoned animals. Built by local animal rights activists, they've provided refuge for dozens of stray cats. But now, those shelters are damage and people are demanding something be done. Jim Thorpe prepares for annual Winterfest 'To take the shelter away, it was 11 degrees when the shelters were destroyed and now they can't be fed and I'm hoping to get this ordinance changed,' said Brenda Buckler, President Whiskers. But with the damage comes a bigger question: do these shelters even have a right to be here? According to Plains Township Commissioners, the land these shelters sit on was purchased by FEMA following the 2011 flood. The land is now considered public land after being handed over to the township later on, meaning nothing can be built upon it. 'We're going to have to look into some ordinances, add some teeth to things, and you know just really get some clarity as to what people can or can't do with cats,' explained Thomas Shubilla, Plains Township Commissioner. We spoke to activists who say they won't stop fighting to rebuild. But until the legal questions are answered, the future of these makeshift animal homes remains uncertain. 'They have nothing right now with which to stay warm. These cats are used to being cared for, they're used to being fed. They're used to that shelter that they're coming back to this area looking for the people who take care of them,' voiced Michelle Demich, Director, Rescue Warriors Cat Rescue. Plains Township Chief of Police tells us a summary offense for criminal mischief has been filed against the individual he believes is responsible for the damage to the shelters. Officials say it's unclear exactly where and when the shelters can be rebuilt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
